Iku Quest Drei - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "It is enough to show that blind faith is not enough. Your mother admitted to me she was lucky to avoid injury, and I was not informed of your sister's condition prior to her battle with Marisa. There very well could be others that were not so lucky."
> "I did not say I was leaving because I did not realize you wanted me to. In addition, I know nothing about tsuchinokos, and given how you volunteered to go find it, I didn't think you would want or need backup to defeat a snake."

>"Okay, so instead of being a huge ass," says Tenshi, "You were just really incredible mindnumbingly stupid in ditching me. Alright. Fine."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Well, that's at least an improvement.

> Wry smile.
> "As much as you think I think I am, and as nice as it would be, I'm not infallible."
> Did the island Tenshi's youngest sister was on have a name?

[Hello Purvis]

> Wry smile.
> "As much as you think I think I am, and as nice as it would be, I'm not infallible."
> Did the island Tenshi's youngest sister was on have a name?

>"Yeah, that's obvious," says Tenshi. "I was expecting competent, though."
>She does, and you didn't catch it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we think we could give reasonable directions to that island? We remember what part of Gensokyo it currently hangs over, right?
> "Be that as it may, we must now decide what to do. I assume that snake is still wandering around here somewhere. You will likely want to visit the island where your youngest sister is stationed; the other celestials there have expressed concern for your well-being. And then there is the amusing case of your mother, who has been 'enslaved' by an ice fairy I believe you are familiar with."
> Make air quotes for 'enslaved'.

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we think we could give reasonable directions to that island? We remember what part of Gensokyo it currently hangs over, right?
> "Be that as it may, we must now decide what to do. I assume that snake is still wandering around here somewhere. You will likely want to visit the island where your youngest sister is stationed; the other celestials there have expressed concern for your well-being. And then there is the amusing case of your mother, who has been 'enslaved' by an ice fairy I believe you are familiar with."
> Make air quotes for 'enslaved'.

>You think that you could.
>"Eh," says Tenshi. "As for that snake, it's right over there. Good luck with that."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "'Eh'? Is that really it? People show concern for you, your sister is injured badly, and all you have for them is 'eh'? Come now, Tenshi, you're better than that."
> Is she gesturing in some direction to indicate where the snake is?

[Hello Purvis]

> "'Eh'? Is that really it? People show concern for you, your sister is injured badly, and all you have for them is 'eh'? Come now, Tenshi, you're better than that."
> Is she gesturing in some direction to indicate where the snake is?

>"Concern's easy enough to fake for appearances. And if she's getting into danmaku battles, she's probably not hurt for real. So yeah."
>She glances off toward your side.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "The celestial I talked to brought you up without my prompting. She asked for news about your whole family and then mentioned you in particular. This was done while your sister was asleep. Why would she feign this kind of concern?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "The celestial I talked to brought you up without my prompting. She asked for news about your whole family and then mentioned you in particular. This was done while your sister was asleep. Why would she feign this kind of concern?"

>"Probably because you asked her about them first," says Tenshi, shaking her head. "And everyone knows you're stuck with me, so it's just manners to ask. And that's all it is."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "And you accuse me of refusing to admit when I'm wrong."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "And you accuse me of refusing to admit when I'm wrong."

>"I'm just saying how it is," Tenshi says. "As long as they do those little things, they can do whatever they want and pretend they're all perfect. And you sure are a lot more interested in telling me how i'm really the wrong one, rather than dealing with that snake. Isn't that weird?"

[Kilgamayan]

> "I have put no more energy into pointing out how you have been wrong than you put into pointing out how I have been wrong, but that's beside the point."
> "I do this because I am concerned for you. The snake will be dealt with in due time. I have the opportunity here and now to help both of us become better people. I do worry for you, Tenshi. You seem to have completely closed your mind off to the possibility that people outside your family actually care for you. You question the good intentions of others with no real evidence to back those questions up. You constantly push me away, even as I try to help you and show concern for you. This is not good for anyone, especially not you."
> "You wanted to be treated as an equal. I offered this to you, in trying to demonstrate that we were both wrong about our assumptions today, neither better or worse than the other. I also offered this to you in trusting your ability when you volunteered for the task of eliminating the snake, instead of assuming you would need assistance and forcing myself on you. You hold that sword to be rightfully yours. I offered this to you, in returning it to you without your asking for it. You know very well I am going to catch Hell for that, and yet I do not regret doing it at all."
> "I will admit that not all of my assumptions today have been correct, and not all of my actions have been admirable. I am not perfect. But I still wish to work toward becoming a better person myself, and I still wish to work toward helping you break out of this shell of negativity. Hate and anger breed more hate and anger. Love and trust breed more love and trust. The latter spiral is vastly preferable to the former."
> "I don't want to see you leave us, Tenshi, and there are others that feel the same way. I would miss you too much. We do care about you, and I would not be able to live with myself if I did not do my very best to show that to you."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I have put no more energy into pointing out how you have been wrong than you put into pointing out how I have been wrong, but that's beside the point."
> "I do this because I am concerned for you. The snake will be dealt with in due time. I have the opportunity here and now to help both of us become better people. I do worry for you, Tenshi. You seem to have completely closed your mind off to the possibility that people outside your family actually care for you. You question the good intentions of others with no real evidence to back those questions up. You constantly push me away, even as I try to help you and show concern for you. This is not good for anyone, especially not you."
> "You wanted to be treated as an equal. I offered this to you, in trying to demonstrate that we were both wrong about our assumptions today, neither better or worse than the other. I also offered this to you in trusting your ability when you volunteered for the task of eliminating the snake, instead of assuming you would need assistance and forcing myself on you. You hold that sword to be rightfully yours. I offered this to you, in returning it to you without your asking for it. You know very well I am going to catch Hell for that, and yet I do not regret doing it at all."
> "I will admit that not all of my assumptions today have been correct, and not all of my actions have been admirable. I am not perfect. But I still wish to work toward becoming a better person myself, and I still wish to work toward helping you break out of this shell of negativity. Hate and anger breed more hate and anger. Love and trust breed more love and trust. The latter spiral is vastly preferable to the former."
> "I don't want to see you leave us, Tenshi, and there are others that feel the same way. I would miss you too much. We do care about you, and I would not be able to live with myself if I did not do my very best to show that to you."

>"So it's my fault after all, of course," says Tenshi. "I only got ditched while trying to help you out after you begged me to come with you. You know what? Sure. Fine. You're completely right, Tenshi has got the wrong of it all once again. Have fun with that snake and whoever brought Bhava-Agra on its knees like it deserves."
>She turns and starts to walk away.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Who cares about who's right and who's wrong? No one's keeping score! What's important is where you go from there!"
> If she keeps making to leave, follow after her.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Who cares about who's right and who's wrong? No one's keeping score! What's important is where you go from there!"
> If she keeps making to leave, follow after her.

>"Yeah, and I can see where this is going. which is the same place it's always been! I'm the wrong and stupid one, and the people who are worse than me get to keep their noses in the air! I thought maybe you were different!"
>She keeps walking off, heading southward. You follow after.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You weren't the wrong and stupid one here! I was! And you aren't stupid for hating everyone, you're hurt! I want to help you, not berate you!"

[Hello Purvis]

> "You weren't the wrong and stupid one here! I was! And you aren't stupid for hating everyone, you're hurt! I want to help you, not berate you!"

>"That's what you said last time, wasn't it?" Tenshi says. "So what makes it different now?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "At what point today did I stop wanting to help you?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "At what point today did I stop wanting to help you?"

>She slows a bit.
>"I don't know what you want. I just know what you've actually done. Doesn't do much for confidence."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Look, I know I screwed up not telling you I was going to leave the village. But why else would I give your sword back to you without your asking for it?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Look, I know I screwed up not telling you I was going to leave the village. But why else would I give your sword back to you without your asking for it?"

>She pauses.
>"Okay, fine. What do you want from me, then?"

[Kilgamayan]

> "I wish you would open yourself to the idea that there are people who do care about you and your well-being. People outside your immediate family. It is true that there are some people in Bhava-Agra that are not entirely pleased with you. I'm not going to lie to you about that, it would be insulting. At the same time, you do not like many of them, as you yourself have admitted. Hate begets hate, anger begets anger, unrest begets unrest. It's a a death spiral. Since you seem to prefer thinking in such terms, when this happens, everyone is wrong. Everyone loses. And everyone is to blame. Not any individual person. Not you, not me, not anyone else. Everyone is at fault."
> "The way to fix this spiral is for respect to take over. Love begets love. Care begets care. Trust begets trust. Happiness begets happiness. And when everyone gets involved in this, everyone is right. Everyone wins. And everyone can be credited for making it happen."
> "If you don't believe me when I say that I care about you, go to your mother, and ask her about the conversation she and I had. If you don't believe me when I say that others care about you, go to the island where your sister is resting. You can do these things to see for yourself. You can trust in me after all the things I've said and done, even with the bad things factored in. You can take the shot and play your part in starting the cycle of love and care, to make yourself and everyone else better. Or you can lose that chance, maybe for good, and stay here, in a surface world where many people no longer trust you, some are liable to attack you on sight, and at least one was willing to assault your sister when she was innocent of all wrongdoing."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I wish you would open yourself to the idea that there are people who do care about you and your well-being. People outside your immediate family. It is true that there are some people in Bhava-Agra that are not entirely pleased with you. I'm not going to lie to you about that, it would be insulting. At the same time, you do not like many of them, as you yourself have admitted. Hate begets hate, anger begets anger, unrest begets unrest. It's a a death spiral. Since you seem to prefer thinking in such terms, when this happens, everyone is wrong. Everyone loses. And everyone is to blame. Not any individual person. Not you, not me, not anyone else. Everyone is at fault."
> "The way to fix this spiral is for respect to take over. Love begets love. Care begets care. Trust begets trust. Happiness begets happiness. And when everyone gets involved in this, everyone is right. Everyone wins. And everyone can be credited for making it happen."
> "If you don't believe me when I say that I care about you, go to your mother, and ask her about the conversation she and I had. If you don't believe me when I say that others care about you, go to the island where your sister is resting. You can do these things to see for yourself. You can trust in me after all the things I've said and done, even with the bad things factored in. You can take the shot and play your part in starting the cycle of love and care, to make yourself and everyone else better. Or you can lose that chance, maybe for good, and stay here, in a surface world where many people no longer trust you, some are liable to attack you on sight, and at least one was willing to assault your sister when she was innocent of all wrongdoing."

>"Tried it, didn't work," Tenshi says. "It doesn't matter what I do. I'm through being their sucker. And everyone? I didn't do a damn thing to them, and they all felt free as they liked to treat me just like I said. So no, I'm not wrong. And I don't win either way, so I might as well be right while I lose. And yeah, I'd rather be down here, it's better here. People are honest instead of a bunch of hypocrites. And they're willing to admit they messed up without being yelled first. I'd rather locked in a room with Remilia or Yuuka than any of them. Only reason I was helping you at all was because maybe you were smarter than the rest of them are."

>_

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

Suggest:
"May I ask you for a favor?"
"Once we have resolved situation with Bhava Agra, can you try one more time to make peace with the other celestials?"
"I will of course accompany you, if you wish, and if they continue to reject you I will *unsure of what to say*"

[Kilgamayan]

> "I don't get it. What made me different?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I don't get it. What made me different?"

>She shrugs. "Maybe you just sounded sincere enough. Maybe it just sounded like fun to go out and take whoever brought down Bhava-Agra."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

I'm just finishing up something real quick, and will be prepared to get back to this. I understand this has been a very difficult conversation to watch, and I thank everyone for having patience enough to let me go as far as I did with it.

For all that submitted suggestions, I do appreciate your input, and there was nothing submitted that I didn't consider. I just had a set path I've been following for a while, and I felt my inputs better followed what I thought was the best approach.

[Kilgamayan]

All right.

After spending most of the night dwelling on how to respond to Tenshi's latest rant (the "Why me?" question was more a delay tactic than anything else, though I liked the answer it got regardless), I have reminded myself of the old saying that "Rome wasn't built in a day". As much as I would like to, and as nice as it would be, we don't explicitly need to win Tenshi over right now. Really, I get the feeling this is just another manifestation of charging into a situation where we assume we know enough to out-wordswordswords our "opponent" when we actually don't (Kanako, Suwako, Koishi).

At this point I think a more viable tactic is to relent for the time being, gather information about the rest of Bhava-Agra as best we can as we progress through the game, and poke Tenshi every so often to remind her that we haven't given up just yet and that we (sans Draco =P) want her back in Bhava-Agra after all this is over. Finding the idea of beating up whoever took Bhava-Agra down "fun" shows that she's not a completely lost cause.

What we have here is not a finished product, but it's a start. An acceptable start, and one off of which we can build.

Now all we need to do is constantly avoid any curiosity she may show toward what interest we have in the shadows and any trips underground we may take. <_< The last thing I want is people getting big heads from Maribel getting away with blowing Sakuya's secret and thinking that we can just blab private information to whoever we want with no fear of repercussions. Especially since pissing Utsuho off is Not A Good Idea.

> "Well...all right then. And I'm glad to hear you thought that way about me. I hope I can continue to improve that assessment."
> "Anyway, as you are...rather adamant against the only thing I wished you would do, I can only turn your question back around. What is it you want to do right now?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well...all right then. And I'm glad to hear you thought that way about me. I hope I can continue to improve that assessment."
> "Anyway, as you are...rather adamant against the only thing I wished you would do, I can only turn your question back around. What is it you want to do right now?"

>"I just want to stop being a sucker, okay?" Tenshi replies. "I'm tired of it all."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I understand that, and I hope for that and will work toward that myself. But I meant in a more immediate sense. Is there any task in particular you want to do? Any particular location you want to visit?"